It’s not uncommon for athletes to give God glory after a good game or a good play. But it’s not every day you hear athletes pouring out their hearts on their own, unprompted. But that’s exactly what Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles did during a sermon at First Assembly Church in Fargo, North Dakota recently.
“I want to take all the attention off of myself, and give it to God,” Wentz, a rookie last year, began by saying. From there he kept hitting gospel truth.
He confessed that he, like many others, thought that he could earn God’s love by working hard. However, through a better understanding of God’s word, Wentz says that he now believes that “We are not saved because of our works, but our good works come out of our salvation.”
After reading from John 5:19, he challenged the church to pursue a personal relationship with God saying, “We will only know how to do ‘good works’ if we are walking step-by-step with the Father.”
It didn’t stop there. Wentz went on to encourage the importance of community, pointing out that because of the temptations and trials in life, surrounding himself with friends who sharpened his faith was a necessity.
“Do you have people in your life that you can be real with?” he asked. “If you don’t have that community, I challenge you to look for that.”
So what makes Wentz not just a give-God-glory-after-a good-game athlete? He credits a trip to Haiti, sharing a powerful video of his volunteer work in there and explaining how he came back with a new sense of urgency to share the gospel with his friends in the locker room.
“I just went to a whole new country, needed an interpreter, walked up to these people in these villages, talked to them and gave them the gospel, and I can barely turn to my neighbor (back home)?”
So thankful for @mohhaiti & the amazing work they do for the people of Haiti! They truly are changing lives for God's kingdom! Praise Jesus! pic.twitter.com/uaym0DYKN1
— Carson Wentz (@cj_wentz) May 25, 2017
He closed his sermon by asking, “If you were standing before God tonight, and He asks you what you’ve done to enter into His kingdom, what would you say?”
Based off of the humble, yet courageous words Carson Went shared in this video, it seems that his ability to lead comes from more than his athletic talent.
You can watch the sermon below. Wentz begins around the 32-minute mark:
